


The Vigilantes of Arcadia Bay

by mightymax



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Action, Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, But Max Keeps Rewinding Time To Save Them, Character Death, Depression, Drinking, Eating Disorders, F/F, Falling In Love, Friendship/Love, Guns, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Photography, Rachel Amber Lives, Romance, Secret Identity, Smoking, Social Anxiety, Some Humor, Spirit Animals, Swearing, Undercover, Vigilantism, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-12
Updated: 2018-06-11
Packaged: 2019-05-20 17:42:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14899074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mightymax/pseuds/mightymax
Summary: The legal system in Arcadia Bay is absolute shit. Four individuals have taken it upon themselves to uphold justice in secret, and their main goal is to take down a man named Mark Jefferson. They are known as "The Vigilantes". Somehow, Max Caulfield finds herself involved with them.It's time to be an everyday hero.





	The Vigilantes of Arcadia Bay

Max had first manipulated time when she was 18.

She was walking with her parents, her mom, Vanessa, a bit faster than her dad, Ryan, and her. At the same time, a man was drunk driving and ignoring every red light he had encountered. The police were hot on his trail, and they managed to catch him...

...right after he had run over Max's mom, killing her instantly. 

It was a huge shock for everyone, but for Max, the shock had triggered something. A power that had always been lying dormant within her.

All of a sudden, she found herself walking with her family again, as if nothing had happened. Her mom was still laughing with her dad and walking ahead of them. It took Max a second to realize what had happened and she pulled her mom back roughly. 

Vanessa was about to reprimand Max and ask her why she had done that when the drunk man had driven right past, narrowly missing them. She gasped and stumbled back a bit. Ryan held them both, making sure they were okay.

"Complete idiots are allowed to drive these days, I swear," he growled. Max was too busy wondering how she had done what she had done.

 _Time manipulation._ She had gone back to the moment before her mother's death to prevent it. 

Ever since that day, she had lived with her ability. It never became stronger because she rarely used it, and because she was perfectly fine without it after that incident. Nothing bad had happened, and when she did rewind time, she only did it to stop something minor from happening. Like when she broke her favorite mug. Or when her phone somehow ended up in the toilet.

After all, she was a boring 23-year old. What need was there to fix anything?

* * *

"Chloe, get your ass down here _right now!_ "

On the corner of Cedar Avenue, there stood a house like any other.The only thing peculiar about it was its residents:

1\. Victoria Maribeth Chase, 23, a woman with a wealthy background and co-owner of Chase Space, a famous gallery in Seattle, alongside her parents.

2\. Chloe Elizabeth Price, 25, a rebellious punk-rock enthusiast with blue hair and a tattoo on her arm, is unemployed and drinks on the daily.

3\. Rachel Dawn Amber, 24, Chloe's girlfriend, a model as well as a lawyer who also happened to possess a few abilities of her own.

4\. Kate Beverly Marsh, 23, a highly religious children's book author and illustrator, who was well-known as she visited church regularly and had eventually met everyone in Arcadia Bay at some point.

There was no simple answer as to why these 4 had decided to live together. Victoria was the one who had yelled at Chloe to come downstairs.

"Whoa, chill, Vic," Chloe told her when she came down. "What got  _your_ panties in a twist?"

"You! Who the fuck else?!" Victoria exclaimed. "You got into  _another_ fight? You've gotta be kidding me! And with your stepdad, no less!"

"Step- _douche,_ actually," Chloe quickly corrected her. "Or step-dildo."

"That's not important," said Victoria. "We're trying to stay hidden, and you wanna go piss him off. He's not some regular guy, he's a paranoid investigator! What if he suspects something? What if you let something important slip during your stupid arguments? He'll be onto us faster than you can say 'shit'!"

"Dude, I always fight with him," said Chloe. "If I ever let anything important slip out my mouth, he sure as hell hasn't caught on. Trust me, for a war veteran with PTSD, he's pretty fucking dense."

"You don't understand," Victoria yelled again. "The only reason he hasn't found out is because every time you fight with him,  _I_ have to exhaust all my resources to throw him off. I can't keep doing this, I'm gonna get caught! When that happens, how are we gonna catch Jefferson, huh? Tell me!"

"What's going on?" Rachel came downstairs with Kate. The two had woken up due to all the racket Victoria was causing. 

"Can you please get it through your girlfriend's thick skull," Victoria pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. "That if she keeps ending up in deep shit with David, we're all going to suffer the consequences!"

"Babe?" Rachel looked at Chloe. "You been fighting again?"

"It's not my fault!" Chloe cried out. "That bastard had the audacity to mention Dad! And not in a good way!"

"Chloe, you already know you're not good at keeping calm," Rachel came over to her and rubbed her shoulders comfortingly. "You tend to...  _say_ things you don't want to. If you can't stop yourself, then just stay away from him for a while, okay?"

"It pains me to see you getting hurt, Chloe," Kate said. "If you ever need to calm down, I can make you some tea. Just please don't let your anger control your words."

"...Mmm...Okay, fine," Chloe grunted.

"Now, apologize to Victoria before she throws an even bigger fit," said Rachel.

Chloe leaped onto Victoria, hugging her tightly. "I'm sowwy, Sticky Vicky! I'll be a good girl now."

"Get off me, you overgrown baby," Victoria growled. "I can't believe you're the oldest here."

"Forgive me?" Chloe looked at her with tearful eyes.

"Alright, alright," she sighed. "Just don't get into any fights for a bit, okay? I have enough shit to deal with, as it is."

"You got it, Sticky Vicky!" Chloe grinned.

"Don't call me that."

"Well, now that we've settled this matter," Kate clapped her hands together. "Shall we go to the Two Whales Diner? Apparently,  _someone_ brought a whole carton of beer and nothing for breakfast."

"Sorry, Katie," Chloe chuckled sheepishly. "But hey, I'd take the Two Whales Diner's food over plain old cereal any day."

* * *

The four women were sitting in the diner, waiting for Chloe's mom to bring their food. Chloe noticed a girl sitting at another table, all alone.

"Hey, Vic, it's a cute girl," Chloe said.

"And?" Victoria raised an eyebrow.

"She looks lonely," said Kate. "We should invite her to sit with us."

"You don't just invite random people to sit with you," Victoria grumbled. "That's weird. Besides, what if she's, like, a serial killer?"

"Come to think of it," Rachel said. "I don't think I've ever seen her around. She must be new."

"Who the hell would visit this shit-pit?" Chloe blinked. "...Wait! Wait wait wait!"

"I'm waiting," Victoria deadpanned.

"I know her!" Chloe exclaimed. "She's my best friend! We used to play all the time when we were kids! Hold on, I gotta go say hi and see if she's still a huge dork. You guys wanna come?"

"No thanks," said Victoria. "I'll wait for the food."

"Oh, c'mon Vic," Rachel put her hands on her hips. "Don't tell me you're shy."

"It's good to meet new people," Kate said. "You should come!"

"I'm not shy, Rachel," Victoria glared at her. "And no thanks, Kate. You guys go, I'll be here."

"Suit yourself," Chloe shrugged. The three girls went to greet her and left Victoria to stare at her phone.

 **Taylor:** just heard that zachary riggins is throwing a huge house party today

 **Taylor:** so what dyou think? wanna go visit ur old highschool sweetheart and maybe rekindle the flames?;)

 **Victoria:** taylor i told you already that HE was interested in ME

 **Victoria:** not the other way around

 **Victoria:** i sexted him to get him caught so that juliet could get him off my back and teach him a lesson or two

 **Victoria:** i was as gay back then as i am now and im not going to fool around anymore

 **Taylor:** want me to hook u up with some cute girls then?

 **Victoria:** ive got bigger things to deal with

 **Victoria:** no time for romance rn

 **Taylor:** if u say so

 **Taylor:** but let me know if u change ur mind;)

 **Victoria:** yeah ok taylor

Meanwhile, the other women had approached the lonely girl staring out the window.

"Yo, Max!" Chloe grinned. "Remember me?"

"Chloe!" Max got up to hug her. "Wowsers, I never thought I'd be seeing you so soon!"

"Same," Chloe hugged back. "Thought you moved back to Seattle."

"My parents rented me a house here," Max explained. "I came back about a month ago. I thought I could get some good shots around here, 'cause I'm a photographer in the making and I really need some good pics to submit to famous galleries, for money and to get recognized. And, well, I missed you. And Arcadia."

"And the diner's cheeseburgers?" Chloe smirked.

"Yeah, that too," Max laughed. "Nice hair. Your tattoo's super cool."

"Thanks," Chloe said. "Oh, Max, these are my friends, Rachel Amber and Kate Marsh. Guys, meet my best friend, Maxine Caulfield."

"Nice to meet you, Maxine," Kate smiled, offering a hand to her.

Max shook it firmly. "Max, never Maxine."

"Oh, I've always had an eye for photography," Rachel said. "Could you show us some of your pictures?"

"Um, sure," Max said. She pulled out an image of Arcadia Bay. "I took this one while I was on the ferry ride to Arcadia Bay."

"Max, that's hella amazing!" Chloe said.

 _"Hella?"_ Max scrunched her nose. "Who even says that?"

"Rachel's vocabulary rubbed off on me," Chloe replied.

"It's a Cali thing," Rachel giggled.

"That aside, there's no denying you have talent, Max," Kate said, tracing her finger over the picture. "I'm sure if Victoria actually got up and tried to talk to you, she'd like them too."

"Victoria?" Max said. "Who's that?"

"See that blonde over there?" Chloe pointed to her. "That's Victoria Chase."

"Whoa!" Max cried out. "You mean 'Chase' as in the owner of  _Chase Space?!"_

"The one and only," Chloe nodded. "Why?"

"I was thinking that when I'm done snapping selfies and pics here, I can submit one to their gallery," Max explained. "They're pretty famous, so if they accept my entry, it'll really help me pursue my career. What's one of the most richest people in Seattle doing in a quiet town like this, anyway?"

"Vic's gallery is in Seattle," Rachel said. "But she was born here. She prefers Arcadia Bay over Seattle because she rarely has to deal with nosy reporters and annoying businessmen. Besides, her parents got it covered. They'll only call her back if something  _big_ is going on."

"You wanna meet her, Max?" Kate asked.

"Oh, uh," Max blinked. "I-I dunno, I mean, we're pretty different in terms of the social hierarchy, and I don't wanna annoy her or anything."

"Social hierarchy my ass," Chloe scoffed. "She hangs out with  _me_ , for crying out loud. If she cared about that shit, she wouldn't be anywhere near me."

"Follow us, Max," Rachel said. "We'll introduce you."

The 3 girls came back to their table, along with Max, right when their food had been brought to them.

"You done talking with h--" Victoria locked eyes with Max. "Oh."

"H-Hi," Max said meekly. "My name's Maxine Caulfield...O-Only it's Max, never Maxine. I heard you're, um, into photography."

"I haven't been as into it since I was 18," Victoria said while glaring daggers into Chloe. "But yes, I am. Am I correct in assuming that you're a photographer?"

"Photographer in the making, actually," Max replied. "I was actually hoping to submit one of my pics to your gallery."

She showed the photo of Arcadia Bay to Victoria. "What are you doing with an old analog camera, anyway? Who still uses those?"

"It gives my pictures a good feel to them," Max said. 

"Well, to each his or her own," Victoria shrugged. "Now, can we eat? I'm starving and my waffles are getting cold."

"Vic, don't you have anything to say about Max's picture?" Kate raised an eyebrow.

"It's... nice, I suppose," Victoria grumbled. 

"She likes it," Rachel nodded. "Vic doesn't really like complimenting others, but she thinks you're pretty talented."

 _"Rachel!"_ said Victoria. "What did I tell you about doing that? It's an invasion of privacy, and it's  _annoying!"_

"Oops, sorry," Rachel smirked, not sorry at all. For what, Max had no idea. "Max, wanna sit with us?"

"Sure," Max smiled. "I haven't eaten with other people in a long time."

"Grab a seat, hippie," Chloe said as she bit into her burger.  

"So, how did you girls meet?" Max asked as she sat down.

"How indeed," Victoria muttered to herself, clearly uncomfortable. Rachel was eyeing her with a strange expression.

"We didn't all meet at the same time," Chloe explained. "Basically, Rachel reconnected with me like 2 years ago. Then we started dating again, and she introduced me to Victoria. I already knew her from Blackwell Academy, 'cause we used to be in the same class, but we didn't exactly get along back then."

"That's an understatement," Victoria said. "You threatened to skin me alive once."

"Did I?" Chloe seemed genuinely confused. "Sorry, Vicky."

"Water under the bridge," Victoria waved her off.

"What about you, Kate?" asked Max.

"Oh, I know everyone who lives here," Kate replied. "My family is very religious, and so I can always be found at the church whenever I'm free or I want to offer up a prayer. I've met everyone, because the church is somewhat of a hub for people to hang out when it's not in use. Even the ones who aren't religious at all have visited at some point."

"Kate just happened to take a liking to our little band of misfits," Rachel added. "That's why she hangs out with us."

"Who're you calling a misfit?" Victoria frowned. "I'm a  _maverick._ There's a difference."

"Sure, Vic," Rachel rolled her eyes. "So, Max--"

The diner door burst open, and a man with a gun walked in. He pointed it at Joyce. "Nobody moves!"

"Oh, fuck!" Chloe breathed. "Just when I thought we could catch a break."

"I've got this," Rachel nodded. She closed her eyes, and paused time.

* * *

"What's going on?"

"Huh?" Rachel blinked. She looked at all her friends. They were all frozen. All except Max.

"M-Max?" Rachel stuttered. "How...?"

"Rachel, are you..." Max gaped. "Are you controlling time?"

"How are you moving?" asked Rachel. "I paused everything. It's impossible!"

"...Maybe it's because..." Max bit her lip. "...I can control time, too?"

"No way," Rachel gasped. "Are you for real?"

"That's the only possible explanation," Max crossed her arms and thought aloud. "I can control time, so your powers don't affect me. Although it's been a long time since I used my ability. I can only rewind time."

"Wow, who'd have thought you were like me," Rachel said. "Hell, I didn't even know it was possible for others like me to exist. How long have you had it?"

"5 years," Max replied. "What else can you do?"

"I'm psychic," Rachel said. "...Come to think of it, I can't read your mind. Why didn't I realize it before...?"

"Um, not to be rude," Max looked at the gunman. "But I'm pretty sure you paused time to figure out how to stop this guy?"

"Oh, right," Rachel nodded. "You're gonna tell me everything later, okay?"

"As long as you tell  _me_ everything," Max nodded back.

"Let's see," Rachel examined the gunman. "Standard pistol, .22 caliber, nothing intricate."

"You could tell all that just by looking at it?" asked Max.

"Chloe's a weapons enthusiast, so I picked up a few things," Rachel said. "The shooter doesn't have any motive other than stealing the money, so he's not working for Jefferson."

"Who's Jefferson?" Max looked at Rachel.

"Shit, uh," Rachel winced. "Look, you shouldn't mention his name. Everyone else thinks he's some amazing photographer, but there's more to him than meets the eye."

"You mean Mark Jefferson?" Max gasped. "But he's so famous! And his photos are top notch!"

"Don't let that fool you," Rachel said. "Max, if he ever tries to talk to you, run. Or make sure you're not alone. That's all I have to say about him."

Max stayed quiet after that, letting Rachel finish her analysis.

"Okay, let's go back to when we all sat down and started talking," Rachel said before rewinding time.

* * *

_"Rachel!"_ said Victoria. "What did I tell you about doing that? It's an invasion of privacy, and it's  _annoying!"_

Rachel and Max had travelled back to when Max was trying to introduce herself. It had been a long time since Max tried to rewind time, so it took her some time to adjust. It appeared that she remembered what Rachel did, too, so that meant her memories were unaffected when someone else tampered with time.

"Hellooooo, anyone in there?" Victoria raised an eyebrow. "Rachel?"

"A guy's gonna walk in any time now," Rachel ignored her. "He has a gun and he wants to rob the diner."

"Intent to kill?" Chloe frowned.

"If he has to," Rachel nodded. "Suggestions, ladies?"

"How about I go punch him?" asked Chloe.

"Don't be daft, he's armed," Victoria spat. "I knew I should've brought my revolver..."

"Maybe one of us can warn Joyce," said Kate. "And the rest of us can block the door. Then Joyce can call the police."

"Or maybe," Max said. "We can replace his gun with something else! I'll be right back!"

Max grabbed Chloe's banana and ran out, despite Victoria's protests. "What the fuck are you doing?!"

She ran out and stood right in front of the robber. He glared at her. 

"What're  _you_ lookin' at, little girl?" he sneered. 

Max flashed him the finger and froze time, something she never knew she could do before. After seeing Rachel in action, she figured she might as well try.

She grabbed his gun from his pocket and put the banana in it, quietly slipping the gun in her own bag. Running back into the diner, she unfroze time.

"What is  _wrong_ with--" Victoria was in the middle of yelling when she realized Max had come back. "...How did you--"

"I'll explain in a bit," Max cut her off. "Just watch."

Like before, the man burst into the diner, saying whatever he had said before, the same expression on his face. The only difference is that when he pulled out his gun...

...It was a banana.

Joyce blinked. She began to crack up, and eventually she was on the ground laughing. Everyone was laughing, even Chloe as she punched the guy and knocked him out. Victoria was too confused to laugh.

"Rachel, you said he was armed," she said. "Does that look like a fucking gun to you?"

"Max?" Rachel looked at her pointedly.

The photographer took a deep breath. "I can control time."

 

 


End file.
